Halo 4: Rise of the Precursors
by Forgotten Spartan
Summary: After the events of the Human-Covenant war, the species of the battle finally live in peace. However, a new evil is rising that threatens the lives of every living being. The biggest battle the universe has ever known is about to unfold.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

**Author's Notes: Hey Everyone. Yes, I know I'm incredibly late on the Odd Squad Chapter Three. But I've decided to put the Odd Squad on hold because I couldn't wait to write Halo 4. Considering the actual game is really coming out, I decided to try finishing my epic version first. I'll try to get back on the Odd Squad as soon as I can.**

**Location: Planet Sanghilios**

The Arbiter stood in the middle of a large, circular room, with a diameter that could easily fit three Covenant Phantom drop-ships. The room's lighting was dim. It was only illuminated by a weak blue light, which was provided from several windows in the room. Six well designed pillars circled the room, each connected with the circular-like walls. In between each two pillars hung a Sanghilian coat of arms, a signature human animal, known as the eagle. The distinctive heraldic design showed the eagle proudly spreading its wings over two crossed energy swords. The Sanghilians had created one after the human-Covenant war to show their peace and unity with the humans.

There was silence, as the Arbiter continued to stand motionless. His eyes were closed, and he breathed calmly. He felt a quick breeze splash across his face. He smiled, in confidence, as much as his mandibles allowed him. He knew something wasn't right, a breeze blowing in an enclosed room? No, there was some motion in the room, and it most certainly didn't come from him. A shadow crept behind the holy warrior, and then quickly fled into the darker side of the room, where it couldn't be seen. The Arbiter had heard footsteps of the shadow clang against the hard metal floor before disappearing.

Thel 'Vadam slowly opened his yellow, serpent-like, eyes as silence, once again, filled the room. He calmly wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his energy sword, located on his utility belt. He heard the sound of slowly moving footsteps behind him. He tightened his grip on his energy sword. A pair of serpent-like eyes, similar to his own, appeared behind the Arbiter. They floated in mid-air, at the same eye level as the Arbiter's. The pair of eyes squinted itself; unsure if the holy figure knew of its presence. The air around the eyes suddenly started to blur, as if it were made of water. A body of Elite materialized as the serpent-like eyes took its place on the head of the body. He wore armor that specified him as a high ranking Feld Marshall. N his hand, he held an energy sword. The blade of energy glowed bright blue as it hovered over the hilt.

The Arbiter continued to show his back to the high ranking Elite warrior. The Field Marshall chose his next move wisely, careful not to underestimate Thel 'Vadam. The Marshall lunged himself at the Arbiter, in an attempt to stab him in the back of the neck. However, faster than the blink of an eye, the Arbiter spun around to face the Marshall, and met the hostile's energy sword with his own. The Field Marshall widened his eyes in shock at his opponent's reflexes and reaction time.

The two energy swords were locked with each other, both warriors trying with effort to push the other back. Eventually, Thel came out victorious as he pushed the Field Marshall back. He quickly regained his balance, and lunged forward for another strike. He swung his blade at the Arbiter's head. Thel quickly ducked as the Elite's energy sword flew mere inches above his head. The Arbiter propelled himself forward towards the Field Marshall, and dug his elbow into the Marshall's chest. The momentum of the blow sent the Arbiter's opponent back a few feet. The Field Marshall soon became agitated. He roared a fierce battle cry and charged at the holy warrior.

There were sounds of clashing energy, echoing through the room. The Field Marshall continued to send multiple blows at the Arbiter, only to find them all blocked our evaded. His rage continued to rise as Thel continued stopping all of his attacks. He used every type of martial arts techniques he knew, and yet, Thel managed to predict and block everything he could throw at him. Thel didn't flinch nor struggle.

The Arbiter continued to block all the Marshall's fast and deadly blows. However, he decided it was time to strike the finishing move. When the Marshall went for a stab at the Arbiter's chest, Thel grabbed his arm before the blade of energy could pierce his armor. He used his right foot as a pivot, and spun behind the Field Marshall. Thel then elbowed him in the back of his head, while he spun. The blow killed the Marshall's shields, and knocked him to the ground face first. The Marshall spun around to face upwards. But before he could recover, the Arbiter was already on him, pointing his energy sword at the Marshall's neck. The two swordsmen glared into each other's eyes for a moment, silence filling the room. Until, the Arbiter deactivated his energy sword, and offered the Field Marshall a helping hand. The Marshall only grinned, and accepted the help. He wrapped his palm around Thel's, and he then pulled the Marshall back onto his feet.

"As Always, Arbiter, you are a formidable foe in battle", said the Field Marshall as he put a hand on the Arbiter's shoulder. "You've already bested every Covenant warrior on our military. I am the last."

"I appreciate your words of admiration, Kantus. It's always an honor to be sparring with you", replied the Arbiter. He clenched his hand into a fist and lightly slammed it on his own chest, as it was a gesture of respect. The Elite, known as Kantus 'Moromee, imitated the gesture back at the Arbiter.

"My time her at the Dome has helped me rethink my battle strategies. I thank you." The Dome was a public structure that was built for the soul purpose of training. All weapons used in the Dome were loaded with rounds that would only stun rather than kill. "I must be going now; I must meet the new recruits who are enrolling into the Covenant.

"Very well, however, we must spar with each other more often," said the Arbiter as he placed his training gear on a nearby table.

"Indeed we should, but until then, the new recruits must be trained and educated." Kantus walked towards the door and placed a hand on it. Before he opened it, he turned back to face the Arbiter, "I bid you a farewell, Thel," was all Kantus said before the automatic doors slid open and then closed as the Field Marshall left the Dome.

The Arbiter just stood there, deep in thought about Kantus's final statement before he had left. It had been so long since his brothers had referred to him by his real name. Ever since he had become the Arbiter people had called him only by his rank. True, now that the old Covenant had fallen and the rank, Arbiter, had become a mark of honor in the eyes of the new Covenant, but Thel still felt isolated because of his current position.

After Thel pushed his thoughts aside he decided to continue training. He practiced some of his own techniques and did a little target practice with the Carbine. Holographic Brutes would appear at random locations, each would disappear after it had taken a shot to the head. Anything lower wouldn't react to the impact of the plasma. A straight head shot would be required. It only took Thel one shot, each, to watch the holograms disappear into pixels.

As the Arbiter sent a carbine round into the skull of a Brute chieftain, he heard footsteps behind him. Judging by the muffled sound the footsteps made, the Arbiter assumed it was a grunt. He turned around to face a Grunt minor. The Grunt whimpered while he spoke, obviously afraid of being in the presence of high ranking soldier. "Good day, excellency. I bring a message from the Ship Master, Half-Jaw."

Curiosity soon overtook the Arbiter, "what is it that my brother requests?" asked the Arbiter. Normally, his brother would only summon him for matters regarding the military.

"He wishes to meet aboard his new Flagship, _Blade of Faith._ He kept the rest of his reasons for summoning you classified. But he'd like to see you as soon as possible."

The Arbiter looked away from the Grunt for a moment, "I see", he whispered to himself. He looked back at the Grunt, "very well then. Thank you for delivering the message."

"Oh", said the Grunt surprisingly, not expecting the act of kindness. "No thanks are necessary excellency. I'm just doing my job." There was still a nervous tone in the Minor's voice, but did his best to hide it. "Well, I'll be going now. Farwell Arbiter". The Grunt gave a respectful bow and then scurried out of the room.

Thel sighed deeply, and decided that he had trained enough for a day's worth. His new priorities were to meet with the Ship Master and see what he requests. He exited the Dome into the vast city outside. The buildings were similar to those of humans' city of New Alexandria. They were tall and slender, and most of them had bridges that connected them with other buildings.

As Thel walked towards the_ Blade of Faith_, located in the docking bay of the city, he noticed some odd events occurring around him. Soldiers, both human and Covenant, were marching across the streets. Each trooper was fully armed, almost as though they were waiting for an assault. The soldiers consisted of UNSC troopers, Elites, Grunts, Jackals and Hunters. After the war, all the species of the Covenant made peace with the humans and the Elites when the lies of the Prophets ended. However, the Brutes continued to remain loyal to the old Covenant, and were still enemies with the UNSC and new Covenant.

The Arbiter looked up to the sky. Covenant Banshees, human Hornets and Drones all seemed to be patrolling the skies. Judging by their movements, the Arbiter could tell that they were keeping watch for enemy scouts. The same question ran though the Arbiter's head, why are his people acting as though a war was about to begin, unless a war was truly about to unfold. Part of him felt dread, for many would be consumed in another clash of gunfire. However, another half of him was excited for the coming warfare. When peace was finally achieved, he had become a useless tool, for his only intentions were to protect and serve. But now that a war was coming, he would have purpose again.

Aboard the Fleet Master's ship, _Blade of Faith, _Thel walked down a narrow passage way. The hall was lit in a dim blue-purple light. His footsteps echoed across the silent hall. He soon came across a metallic door, which he knew would lead into the main control center of the ship. A circular lock rested on the center of the large door. It was emitting a red light, indicating it was locked. The Arbiter placed his hand on a switch located on a small pillar beside the door. The circular lock changed color from red to light blue, and the metallic door swung open.

The passage way soon widened into a circular room. A large holographic image of the Sanghilian city occupied the center of the room. Thel continued to wonder why the entire city seemed to be on maximum security. He turned to his head to one corner of the room, only to find his brother. Half-Jaw showed his back to the Arbiter as he worked with multiple holographic panels that controlled the ship's functions.

"Ship Master", the Arbiter broke the silence. Half-Jaw looked up from his controls and turned around to face Thel. "You summoned me to discuss matters regarding information that I still do not know of."

The Ship Master replied, "Tell me, Arbiter, on your way here did you notice troopers who were preparing for battle"?

"Yes, I noticed that our entire city has been put on maximum security. I've been meaning to ask you the reason why you scrambled the soldiers?" asked the Arbiter.

Half-Jaw sighed deeply, "I believe it would be best for you if this was explained from you're…" He paused for a moment, "unexpected guest". The Arbiter gave his brother a confused look. Suddenly, a spherical object slowly descended from the sky and hovered over the ground, in between the two Sanghilians. The strange object turned around to face the Arbiter. It resembled the design of 343-Guity Spark. It had a single eye in the center that glowed bright gold. The Arbiter stared at it in awe struck.

The golden eyed monitor spoke in a deep voice, "greetings. I am 000-Master Spark."

**Author's Notes: Suspense isn't there. Again, sorry for those who wanted the Odd Squad, but I won't give up on it. I'm thinking of writing it as sort of a prequel. Anyway, now that it's summer, expect a lot more updates. Review and Comment.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

**Author's Notes: To those of you who are wondering, Master Chief will be in this fan fiction. By the way, I'm not naming the chapters because I don't want to spoil what's going to happen in the chapter.**

The Arbiter was overcome with curiosity. Out of all the Forerunner artifacts he had studied and explored, he had never heard mention of any Master Spark. He assumed the monitor standing before him occupied the task of monitoring one of the undiscovered Halo rings, considering he resembled installation-04's guardian, 343-Guilty Spark. However, the term, 'Master', used in the monitor's title made him believe that Master Spark was different among the other watchers of the Halo rings.

"Master Spark", said the Arbiter, facing the monitor. The circular machine nodded his head, knowing the Arbiter's statement was in the form of a question. "I assume you are one of the monitors of a Halo rings…" He paused for a moment and then added, "Or at least any of the still intact rings," he said while recalling the time when he provided assistance in the destruction of installation-04.

The monitor shook his head, or to be more precise, his entire body. "Negative, I am not one of the monitors of any active installations," he replied. "Why might you think such a thought?"

"Your design and appearance resembles that of all the other monitors, so I assumed you shared the same programming as them." The Arbiter's thoughts were proved correct; Master Spark was unique amongst his twins.

"I am actually quite different from the rest of the monitors," explained Master Spark, "I'm sure you're familiar with the events of the creation of the Halo rings and the first Flood infestation."

"Well of course". Thel knew about how the Forerunners created the rings of Halo as a last resort against the parasitic life form, known as the Flood. The Halos were a weapon that would eliminate all life in the galaxy, in an attempt to starve the Flood into extinction.

"Before they created the installations, they first designed and built me. I was to act like a control to the rest of the monitors or installations. If the Flood were ever to return, I would supervise all the installations as my creators had before they vanished. You could say I act as the Forerunner's replacement."

The Arbiter was deep in thought about what Master Spark said. Did all the events during the Human-Covenant war, relating to Forerunner artifacts, really happen because of Master Spark's protocol? 343-Gultiy Spark's orders, the activation of the ark and all the sentinels that had tried and failed to kill him? Was that all just protocol to this monitor?

"But enough about me, there are reasons to me being on this planet, and I'm sure you're curious about them."

The Arbiter crossed his arms; "actually", he turned to face the Ship Master. "I'm interested to know why all of the troopers had been scrambled as if a war was coming."

"That also relates to the reason I'm here," said Master Spark. The Arbiter turned back to face the monitor. "I also bring no joy in informing you that war is indeed coming." Master Spark's voice turned serious. The Arbiter could tell by the monitor's tone that he wasn't exaggerating about what was to come.

"Another war", the Arbiter asked questionably, "who has declared this?" He demanded. The monitor sighed.

"I'm-I'm not sure who they are. All that I know of them is that my creators had installed me with an emergency protocol if they were to ever return."

"Return, from what?" Obviously the Arbiter was confused by the way Master Spark meant 'return'.

"To the extent of all my data files, the only thing that can be said about them is that they had fought with my creators before."

Thel was astonished, a war that used technology used by the Forerunners themselves? It truly must have been a battle of epic proportions. "I see. Is there any one you know of that can provide us information on this ancient foe?"

Master Spark thought for a moment, hovering forwards and backwards. "Well, there is one person that comes to mind; the Reclaimer who wears the special armor."

Thel's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of the person the monitor described, the man who had put his life on the line, even knowing the odds were against him. The Spartan, or the Master Chief, as the humans called him. He'd been with Master Chief on many campaigns against the Covenant. However, why would the Spartan know of an ancient force that the Forerunners once combatted thousands of years ago? "Why would this…" The Arbiter chose his words wisely, "Reclaimer know about this new threat."

"When the humans and the Covenant took their fight to the Ark by activating the Forerunner artifact on Earth, the Ark's data base storage areas, or terminals, had been breached. Those data files contained the entire history of my creators; including their war between them and the returning force. I can only assume that the Reclaimer with the special armor was the only one capable of reaching the terminals."

"Basically," continued Master Spark, "I've come to warn you that the ones who have returned are coming here, no doubt to rid their biggest threat that stands in the way of their main goal. I thought you might as well be prepared when they arrive."

"And prepared we are," the Ship Master interjected. "All the troopers are prepared for any attack. Monitor, I thank you for your warning, but now it is time to fight." Half-Jaw began explaining his battle tactic. "I will lead the battle from orbit. Arbiter, I want you to cover the fight planet side."

The Arbiter nodded his head in approval, and rushed off to his destination. Master Spark quickly followed behind him. Thel reached the gravity lift, a device on the ceiling that emitted anti-gravity particles. It came in the form of a purplish tube of light that began at the ceiling and ended on the planet's ground. The Arbiter jumped into the beam of light, and slowly began to descend to the planet below.

His feet finally touched solid ground. Suddenly, the tube-like shape of the gravity lift started to grow thinner. Eventually, it disappeared, indicating the deactivation of the device. The Arbiter looked up and watched the Flag Ship begin to rise in altitude. Once it reached its desired height, the Flag Ship's main thrusters activated. The space vessel turned itself towards the sky and flew off into orbit.

He looked over his shoulder to find Master Spark hovering behind him. "So, when do you suppose this threat will arrive?" asked the Arbiter. All of a sudden, a giant red beam of what looked like plasma erupted from the clouds above. The plasma that came out of nowhere came into contact with one of the buildings of the city. The structure collapsed and exploded into debris. The Arbiter took the event by surprise.

"I'd say, they're already here", replied Master Spark. When the clouds cleared, the source of the powerful plasma was revealed. A large ship, about the size of a Covenant Flag Ship, hovered over the Sanghilian city. The ship's design was unknown. The only way to describe it was that it was obviously more advanced than the Covenant ships. The mysterious ship began firing multiple rounds of the same red plasma.

Buildings continued to explode and collapse. Soon, the once blue sky turned darkish orange. The only thing that was left of the destroyed buildings was the small pile of rubble left behind. Thel could notice tiny dots that were scattered across the red skies. He realized that they were drop ships, which were coming by the hundreds.

The Arbiter grinned to himself. For the first time after the human-Covenant war, he'd be able to fight in a real battle. "Anything that ends up planet side…" he mumbled to himself. He activated his energy sword, "will end up as blood on my blade!" Yelled Thel proudly, he then rushed into the burning city, ready to face whatever force came in his way.

**Author's Notes: Yeah, I'd have to say this may be the worst chapter I've ever written. Not to mention it was as hard as hell to write. Writing the speech at the beginning was a total ass too. I'll tell you know I need your help. Please review on what you thought about this chapter. If it was good and I should keep it up, it was okay, it need some work or it's just as bad as throwing up on a pile of sh*t. So review and give me comments on if it's any good, or give some suggestions on how my style of writing can be improved.**

** But don't go ape sh*t about and comment about how much this chapter sucked. I'm only 14 after all. Anyway, comment and review. **


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